Ramblings on Jewish Feminism

So I’m taking a break from my beloved critical analysis to have a casual chat, albeit a one sided, open ended chat typed into structured paragraphs.

I’ve had quite a few requests for my opinion on Jewish feminism, sexism in Judaism and even a feminist perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (??). The problem is: I don’t actually have an opinion on these issues. Shocking I know. Rather I have a jumble of vaguely coherent, mildly disconnected thoughts that come to mind when considering feminism and Judaism, which will hopefully be suitable content for this Shabbat.

First up, I’m a non-religious Reform Jew, and I feel like this has strongly affected the way I view- or rather don’t view – feminist issues in Judaism. Reform AKA Progressive Judaism is often described as an Americanised stream of Jewish religious practise with a strong aim to modernise the potentially harmful archaic traditions of Orthodox Judaism, especially gender inequality. My synagogue has a female rabbi and I read from the Torah on my Bat Mitzvah, which is often forbidden to women in traditional/Orthodox communities. I’ve also never had a personal issue with the gendered religious roles of men and women, such as only men wearing certain garments or saying certain prayers. I think this is because when I was little, I asked why only men wear and say certain things, and I was told that it’s because women are already close to God, but boys need extra help so they wear special clothes and say special prayers. I was told that I could do it with them if I wanted, but it wasn’t really necessary. And although I now know these traditions exist because they are based off the inherently sexist practises of ancient civilisations, that sentiment of equality I first learnt has embedded itself in my subconscious, and affected the way I view Jewish gender inequality.

Basically what I’m slowly getting at in a meandering, anecdotal kind of way is that my experiences of Judaism have been – at least on surface level – ones of equal opportunity and open-mindedness. And even if there are underlying sexist tropes in these experiences, as I’m sure there are, I am so disinterested and uninvolved in religious Judaism that it does not affect me in any noticeable way. I mean seriously, literally the only reason I grudgingly agreed to have a Bat Mitzvah was because I had a crush on a boy in my religious studies class.

That said I will concede that there have been instances where I’ve been uncomfortable as a woman in Judaism. Most notably was when I was in Israel, where Reform Judaism goes largely unrecognised, and most religious sites are segregated. Being accustomed to freely walking around sacred areas, the *uneven* segregation did not sit well with me at all.

But the thing is, I don’t see this as “the toxic patriarchy”, which I usually love to slow-roast. I don’t see segregation and head-coverings as symbols of oppression, and I don’t see even Orthodox Judaism as in dire need of a feminist makeover. Religion is far more complex than we give it credit for and deeply woven into the identities of so many individual human beings that I can’t bear to criticise or propose changes to a culture I hardly identify with on a religious level. When I watch, read, or listen to Orthodox women speak about feminism in their Judaism, I just smile, nod and trust that they understand their lives and feminist needs in a way I never will. As far as I can see, their empowerment will never hinder mine, and I honestly have no idea who out of the two of us has a better idea of what’s good for the women we influence. In an extremely un-Hannahesque way, when it comes to Jewish feminism, I don’t even try to understand. When being segregated makes me uncomfortable, all I can think of is “somewhere there is a yeshiva full of empowered feminist Jewish women who fully support segregation, and it’s not my place to say they’re wrong”.

There is a limit to this kind of attitude, as I think religion should be heavily criticised for things like blatant homophobia and transphobia, or concealing sexual abuse claims. However the nuances of feminism in an orthodox religious sphere are so out of my experience and knowledge that making statements on it seems a little naïve.

…this post got deep…

Shabbat Shalom,

Hannah